One of the first steps you take when you are determining your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

By referring to the USDA zone info for Tifton it's a good idea to figure out when it's possible to plant elephant ears.

Planting Calendar for Elephant Ears

Frost tolerance for elephant ears:	Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant:	After all chance of frost has passed.

Since elephant ears require warm weather it is important to wait until after the last frost before you can plant them.

The earliest that you can plant elephant ears in Tifton is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant elephant ears and expect a good harvest is probably August. You probably don't want to wait any later than that or else your elephant ears may not have a chance to fully mature. Starting your elephant ears indoors is a great way to get them started a couple of weeks earlier.

Last Frost Date

The average date of last frost is March 15 in Tifton. It might get as low as 15°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Tifton is not always accurate the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Tifton you get a frost after March 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your elephant ears if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Tifton

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	November 15
Lowest Expected Low	15°F
Highest Expected Low	20°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 20°F.

Plants to Grow in Tifton

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Tifton.